This survey has been developed to look at the types of play that parents engage in with their young children. We are looking for all parents with a child aged between 0 and 10 years to participate.
This survey is anonymous and we will not be collecting any identifying information.
Image: Play group WA (inc)
Definitions of Terms
For the purpose of this study:
Parent 1 is the parent who is completing this survey
Study Child is the child aged 0 to 10 years that you are referring to when completing the survey. If you have multiple children within this age range, please only report on the eldest child within this age range.
Parent 2 (optional) is another adult who lives with the study child and is a parent or parent figure.
Rough-and-Tumble Play is physical play such as play wrestling, tickling, chasing, or throwing the child in the air games.
Toy Play is play that involves toys as the focus of the play such as playing with blocks, or dolls or cars.
Reading relates to reading with your child. For younger children the parent would read the story to the child, with older children that child or adult might read the story aloud.
Puzzles relates to jigsaw puzzles or similar challenging cognitive games.
Sharing Screen Time means that the child and parent are actively engaged in the same TV show, movie, console game (eg Xbox, Playstation etc), or online game together.
Pretend Play / Playing Make Believe refers to play where the parent and child use their imagination. Depending on the age of the child it may include things like pretending to bake a cake together, playing school teacher/student games, playing shop, or imagining that you are explorers in another world.
Dr Emily Freeman
Lecturer
School of Psychology
Psychology Building
Callaghan NSW 2308
(02) 4921 6115
Emily.Freeman@newcastle.edu.au
Information Statement for the Research Project: The Australian Parent-Child Play Study
Document Version 2; dated 27/03/2019
You are invited to participate in the research project identified above which is being conducted by Dr Emily Freeman and PhD Candidate Mrs Erin Robinson from the School of Psychology at the University of Newcastle. This research is part of Erin Robinson’s PhD studies at the University of Newcastle, supervised by Emily Freeman from the School of Psychology at the University of Newcastle.
Why is the research being done?
The purpose of the research is to understand the types of play that Australian parents do with their young children.
Who can participate in the research?
We are seeking all Australian parents who have a child aged 0-10 years of age.
What would you be asked to do?
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an anonymous survey that asks questions about the types of play that you do with your child, including your and their enjoyment of the different play activities, and the frequency with which you do each type of play. You will also be asked for some basic demographic information about your family.
What choice do you have?
Participation in this research is entirely your choice. Only those people who give their informed consent will be included in the project. Whether or not you decide to participate, your decision will not disadvantage you.
How much time will it take?
The survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
What are the risks and benefits of participating?
We cannot promise you any benefit from participating in this research, nor are there any risks. The results from this study will give us a snapshot of the types of play that parents engage in with their children. The results from this study will be used to inform future research studies about parent-child interactions.
How will your privacy be protected?
The questionnaire is anonymous and it will not be possible to identify you from your answers.
The survey will be hosted by the University of Newcastle IT Department. You can find more information about their privacy/security policy here: https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/348810/Information-Security-Policy-D09-1992P-3.PDF
How will the information collected be used?
The results from this study will be reported in scientific journals and presented at scientific conferences. The results will also be reported in Mrs Erin Robinson’s PhD thesis.
Individual participants will not be identified in any reports arising from the project.
Non-identifiable data may be also be shared with other parties to encourage scientific scrutiny, and to contribute to further research and public knowledge, or as required by law.
Research data will be stored securely by the researchers using a password protected electronic storage system provided by the University.
If you would like a copy of the summary of the results, please email the Chief Investigator [Emily.Freeman@newcastle.edu.au] after July 2019.
What do you need to do to participate?
Please read this Information Statement and be sure you understand its contents before you consent to participate. If there is anything you do not understand, or you have questions, contact the researcher.
If you would like to participate, please complete the anonymous survey by clicking the “Next” button below. This will be taken as your informed consent to participate.
Further information
If you would like further information please contact Dr Emily Freeman [Emily.Freeman@newcastle.edu.au] or Mrs Erin Robinson [Erin.Robinson@uon.edu.au].
Thank you for considering this invitation.
Dr Emily Freeman & Mrs Erin Robinson
Complaints about this research
This project has been approved by the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval No. H-2019-0063.
Should you have concerns about your rights as a participant in this research, or you have a complaint about the manner in which the research is conducted, it may be given to the researcher, or, if an independent person is preferred, to the Human Research Ethics Officer, Research Services, NIER Precinct, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia, telephone (02) 4921 6333, email Human-Ethics@newcastle.edu.au.
